Dyke: Blatter comments unacceptable

10 June 2014 05:31

England's football chiefs rounded on FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Tuesday and told him that his claim that racism was behind corruption allegations was "totally unacceptable".

FA chairman Greg Dyke responded forcefully to Blatter at a meeting of UEFA federations in Sao Paulo after the FIFA president had addressed the room.

Meanwhile, England's UEFA vice-president David Gill called for Blatter not to stand for election for a fifth term next year.

Dyke said after the meeting: "I said to him, 'I regard the comments you made yesterday about allegations in the British media in which you described them as racist as totally unacceptable.

"The allegations being made are nothing to do with the racism, they are allegations about corruption."

Gill labelled Blatter's decision to commit a U-turn on his 2011 pledge to stand down in 2015 as "disappointing".

Gill, the former Manchester United chief executive, said: "The very fact in 2011 he was clear it was just for four years, that should have been the situation. To change his mind is disappointing."

Asked if he thought Blatter should step down next year, he added: "Personally yes, I think we need to move on. I think we need a full, frank and open debate about what FIFA needs going forward."

Gill also echoed Dyke in that Blatter's comments about racism being behind the Qatar 2022 World Cup corruption allegations were "unacceptable".

African officials were among those alleged to have taken payments from Qatar's former FIFA member Mohamed Bin Hammam, according to the Sunday Times.

"The statement made by Mr Blatter yesterday was from our point of view totally incorrect," said Gill.

"This was about the issue being raised quite rightly in the British media which should be addressed by the world governing body and to try and portray it as racist or a discriminatory attack is totally unacceptable."